HANNIBAL RISING
US, 2007, 117 minutes, Colour.
Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Rhys Ifans, Dominic West, Kevin Mc Kidd.
Directed by Peter Webber.
Terrible reviews from critics. Better responses from the public. I would prefer this one over Ridley Scott’s Hannibal any day! Of course, it needs to be said that the Lecter story is quite distasteful (a bad pun!) for many audiences who would not want to see it.
It seems that Hannibal Lecter has become something of a sacred icon. As embodied by Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Red Dragon, he is firmly in the consciousness of moviegoers and even beyond. He won an Oscar as did Jodie Foster, director Jonathan Demme and the film itself for The Silence of the Lambs in 1991. Sequel, Hannibal, was a mixture of the spoof and the horror. Red Dragon was an interesting remake of Michael Mann’s Manhunter with Brian Cox as a very alarming Lecter.
With that history in mind, Thomas Harris was persuaded to write Hannibal Rising and incurred the wrath of literary reviewers and film critics for selling out to commercialism in capitalising on the popularity of his villain and creating a prequel. And, yet, nobody seems to have made these criticisms of Batman Begins or the origins of James Bond in Casino Royale. Yes, these were better films than Hannibal Rising but that does not necessarily make Hannibal Rising bad.
It’s not bad at all and suggests plausible reasons for Hannibal’s madness, his violence and his cannibalism. It’s all done in a rather heightened Gothic style rather than in a naturalistic mode, although that is how it begins.
Near Kaunas in Lithuania, we find Lecter Castle. With the German retreat in 1944, roving Nazi collaborators want to evade the advancing Russians. They trap the Lecter family in their country house, kill the parents and, in their hunger, dispose of Hannibal’s little sister, Mischa. This trauma haunts Hannibal in the orphanage set up by the communists in the family castle. However, escaping to France to find his uncle, he discovers his widow (Gong Li) and stays with her, becoming a medical student. She is Japanese and is skilled in martial arts and possesses a sword. Hannibal is consumed by revenge and returns to Lithuania to confront his sister’s killers.
It is easy to see where this is all leading. And it does. Meanwhile, a Nazi-hunter policeman (Dominic West) keeps dogging Hannibal.
The film is designed as a psychological thriller rather than a gory horror story. The visuals of the fate of Mischa are kept until later in the film in a series of stylised flashbacks. Once Hannibal starts eliminating the villains (with initial practice on a racist butcher who insults his aunt), the film is violent, though less so than the average slasher thriller.
Rhys Ifans (opposite to his presence in so many films, especially Notting Hill) is the leader of the pack which includes Kevin Mc Kidd. Since they have escaped to France after the war and made illegal fortunes, they are deserving prey for Hannibal.
However, the moral point is made by his aunt and by the inspector. Hannibal Lecter could have made a choice not to be his sinister self, but he does. He is also tormented by the fact and is in denial that he too ate some of Mischa’s flesh to survive.
Gaspar Ulliel is gaunt, introverted and quietly menacing, relishing his cruel streak more and more. Gong Li, a surprise presence in a film like this after her career in Chinese classics, makes the aunt credible despite the improbability of her being in France at this time. Director Peter Webber is best known for quite a different film and film-making style, The Girl with the Pearl Earrings.
Well, now we know what Thomas Harris thinks made Hannibal Lecter the monster he became.
1.Audience expectations from the previous films? From the novels? Knowledge about Hannibal Lecter, his character, career? Thomas Harris and his novels, writing the screenplay for this film? The critique that he had written simply for exploiting the story of Hannibal Lecter and for a film audience? The films and Anthony Hopkins’ performance, that of Brian Cox in Manhunter?
2.The film as a prequel, explanation for Hannibal Lecter and his life and career? His story and motivations? Trauma? The title? Harris’s view of Hannibal Lecter?
3.The settings, World War Two, the 40s and Lithuania, the castle, the war, action? The 1950s, the orphanage, Hannibal’s escape through Europe, France, the return to Lithuania? The house, the town, the French settings? The musical score?
4.World War Two, the Lecter family, the parents and their being strafed to death, the children and their escape, the Germans, the partisans and their massacres of the gypsies, turning against the Germans? The Allied advance? People fleeing? The children and their going to the country house? The attack, the partisans occupying it, their gross behaviour, Mischa, Hannibal, their survival?
5.The partisan group, the leadership of Grutas? The robberies, the treatment of the children, preparing for the Allies, the killing? The revelation about what happened, the death of Mischa, the cannibalism? The trauma for Hannibal?
6.His life in the orphanage, socialist rule in Lithuania, the treatment, the staff, his escaping, his quest in France, the arduous journey?
7.The escape to France, seeking his uncle, his uncle being dead, his aunt, Lady Murasaki? Her Japanese background and culture? Her life, care for Hannibal? His growing up? Their moving to Paris, his studies, the anatomical skills, the Lithuanian sent to kill him and his confrontation, killing him? The insults of the butcher in France, the war criminal, Hannibal luring him into the woods, slaughtering him? Lady Murasaki putting the head outside the police headquarters? Indicating that he was killed in revenge for war crimes?
8.The inspector, his role, hunting down Nazi criminals? In the town, his knowing that Hannibal was guilty of the butcher’s death, discussions? His commitment to justice and law?
9.Lady Murasaki, in herself, her dignity, grief, way of life, the bond with Hannibal, the sensual imagery? The martial arts training? Hannibal and his skills?
10.Hannibal’s return to Lithuania, the torture of the survivor, getting the information? His cruelty? The return to France, finding Grutas and the others, the characters of the group, their criminal activities, their interactions amongst themselves, the restaurateur? The people smuggling? Hannibal finding them, the confrontation?
11.On the barge, Grutas and his character, sinister, wanting to control everything, winning? The background of Lithuania, his type, becoming monstrous? Dominating the others, their fears? Hannibal and the confrontation? The taking of Lady Murasaki?
12.The inspector, his continued pursuit?
13.The aunt, her trying to persuade Hannibal back to normal, her failure?
14.Hannibal, going to Canada, his final ruthlessness? As a character, a trauma, childhood, cannibalism, the turning points in his life, the violence, his anatomical skills, cannibalism? His future?
